My kids, like most kids, usually like the box a new toy came in even more than the actual toy. So I go with it and let their imaginations run wild. They’ve come up with the craziest ideas to transform cardboard boxes into something new and fun, from building their own grocery store checkout, to cutting them up making some pretty sweet masks.

Whenever a rainy day or the flu sidetracks our plans to get out and about, a clever cardboard box craft can keep my kids entertained, engaged, and inside all day long. So before you recycle that huge diaper box, refrigerator box, or box from Costco, think of all the things that box could be.

Whether your Amazon addiction has left you with more cardboard boxes than your recycle bin can handle, or your kids are simply like mine and just love boxes, I’ve rounded up thirty-one creative cardboard box crafts that’ll entertain your kids to no end. Check them out in the slideshow.

Shauna Younge is a dessert table designer, craft stylist, and writer. As the macaron-addicted editor of Sweet Tooth, she blogs about dessert tables, sweet DIYs, and all things candy. She's also the co-founder of party-centric DIY site, Confetti Pop. She's happily married and happily mama and living in the Twin Cities with her husband and two girls. You can follow her sugar-laced antics on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.